If you have visited here before, you can probably see that I have changed the name of the blog again. I started blogging at 4URuthie to tell the story of our journey to adopt our 1st daughter. I changed it to Mountains for Maggie when we were praying for God to move mountains on behalf of our 2nd daughter. Well now it is no longer just Ruthie’s or Maggie’s stories. It is now our family's story, and the stories of those we share life with, as we Conquer Mountains together. Both ConqueringMountains.net and 4URuthie.blogspot will lead here.

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I am a pastor's wife, mother of 4 kids (2 adopted and 3 with special needs), physical therapist, and photography junky. This is where it all comes together for me. Feel free to join along as I process life out loud.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Kinesio Taping- WOW!



I went to a course this weekend to learn all about Kinesio Taping. You may have seen the tape on Olympic athletes as the pink and black stuff wrapped in strange patterns on them. I remember first seeing it on Kerri Walsh playing beach volleyball and wondering what in the world that was.

Basically, Kinesio Tape can be used to facilitate muscle contractions, inhibit overworking muscles, facilitate lymphatic flow to decrease swelling, and to break up scar tissue. It has several other uses too, but those are the ones I am most interested in. You are probably wondering how one piece of tape can do all that. So was I. The tape is elastic and its use is dictated by how much stretch you put on it and how you lay it.

I am sharing all this with you because it so effective for anyone with movement restrictions like Ruthie and Jack. Here is what I mean:

For Ruthie- I taped her right elbow in a bent position from origin to insertion. I am keeping the tape on for 6 weeks (I have to reapply it) to assess its effectiveness at facilitating true strength changes. So far it has changed her carrying angle to a slightly bent position and helped her to actively bend against gravity. Recently, Ruthie started bending her left arm against gravity and would use it to help her right. I am hoping this will help her actively bend her right. You can see some pictures below of her with the tape and performing therapy.

For Jack- Jack is actually much more complicated and will require more extensive taping. On Monday I taped Jack's feet into dorsiflexion and eversion. This is different from a brace that would do the same because it is not fixed and is actually facilitating the muscles instead of replacing them. Jack's teacher contacted me late that morning and said Jack was complaining that his legs hurt. Because Jack's feet were hitting the ground correctly he was not able to go into his compensatory patterns and was actually having to use his leg muscles for stabilization and they were getting tired. How great is that! Today I taped to inhibit his hamstrings and provide a shear on his fascia on the back of his legs. My expectation is that we will have increased flexibility in a few days and hopefully that will carry over into his walking.

I am really encouraged about what Kinesio Taping can do. I have already seen good results with my patients and coworkers. If you or your child has a movement restriction, I would encourage you to talk to your PT or OT about Kinesio Taping. It is so easy (and cheap) that most people could do it themselves at home. Let me know if you have questions. Also I am really new at this and am seeing good results. I have to think that will all improve as my skills improve.




9 comments:

Kim S said...

That is so cool!! I don't think we have a need at the moment, but with 4 active kids in the house, I'm sure we will at some point!

Amy E. said...

Ginny..you just WOW me. Your kids are so blessed to have YOU as their mom. I know you are not perfect..but you are such a cheerleader and advocate for your kids!! clap clap clap clap!!

Unknown said...

Wow--that's so neat. Very cool.

The Vinyards said...

That is really cool! Sydney (home almost 3 months)is in physical therapy. I wonder if that would help her right leg? Thanks for sharing this!

Shannon said...

That is awesome! I wonder, would it work for Georgia's ankles? They continue to be pretty weak, she compensates by wakling funny. I'm asking the PT on Monday!!!!! That may make a big difference!

Kim said...

I am not a normal follower of your blog, but I found the link through another blog. Our daughter has Hypotonia and we went through THREE PT's before anyone EVER mentioned Kinesio Taping. And once she started, she made more progress in 3 MONTHS than she did in her whole life. I am a HUGE advocate for it!

Ginny said...

That is awesome Kim! I love to hear results like that. Thanks for sharing

Cheri said...

Ginny we tried the tape for Lia's hand but I don't think the OT knew what the heck she was doing. I really had no use for her. We now have a splint for her hand that helps pull her thumb out so she is not always tucking it into a fist position.

I have heard wonderful things about the tape! I could never put it on correctly.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post on taping. I have a child with cp that I would like to tape for various things. I am thinking about purchasing the book Kinesio Taping for Pediatrics. Would you recommend that or did you just learn from your PT?

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